APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING MATERIAL TO BE TREATED IN CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED THERMAL TREATMENT FURNACES

APPAREIL DESTINE A SUPPORTER UN MATERIAU A TRAITER DANS DES FOURS DE TRAITEMENT THERMIQUE A FONCTIONNEMENT CONTINU

English Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for supporting material to be treated in
continuously operated thermal treatment
furnaces, wherein the support of the material is carried out by means of
suport elements external to the furnace, and where the material
is made to proceed at a high velocity, said apparatus comprising at least two
elements for supporting the material and a member for
supporting the support element, as well as means for cooling the support
element. According to the invention, the support element
(7) comprises at least one rotation support member (8), provided with a
turnably installed tightening element (9), and at least one
actuator arrangement (4) for making the support element (7) rotate essentially
at an equal circumferential velocity as the proceeding
direction of the material (2).

French Abstract

L'invention porte sur un appareil destiné supporter un matériau à traiter dans des fours de traitement thermique à fonctionnement continu. Le support du matériau est réalisé au moyen d'éléments de support extérieurs au four et est conçu de façon à être traité à haute vitesse. Cet appareil comprend au moins deux éléments destinés à supporter le matériau et un élément pour supporter l'élément de support, ainsi qu'un dispositif permettant de refroidir l'élément de support. Selon cette invention, l'élément (7) de support comprend au moins un élément (8) rotatif pourvu d'un élément (9) de serrage monté rotatif et au moins un dispositif (4) d'actionnement permettant de faire tourner l'élément (7) de support à une vitesse circonférentielle principalement égale à la vitesse de traitement du matériau (2).

Claims

6
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. An apparatus for supporting material to be treated in continuously
operated thermal treatment furnaces, wherein the support of the material is
carried
out by means of support elements external to the furnace, and where the
material is
made to proceed at a high velocity, said apparatus comprising at least two
elements
for supporting the material and a member for supporting the support elements,
as well
as means for cooling the support elements, characterized in that the support
elements
comprise at least one rotation support member, provided with a turnably
installed
tightening element, and with at least one actuator arrangement for rotating
the support
element essentially at an equal circumferential velocity as the proceeding
velocity of
the material.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least
one actuator arrangement controls the rotation of the support elements.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the
actuator arrangement is in operation in order to maintain the circumferential
velocity
of the support elements, at least when the support elements are in mechanical
contact
with the material to be supported.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the
actuator arrangement is in operation in order to maintain the circumferential
velocity
of the support elements only in connection with the shifting of the support
elements
from a support position to a replacement position.
5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in
that the tightening element of the rotation support member constitutes part of
the
support element housing.

Description

WO 01/11093 CA 02381222 2002-02-04 pCT/F100/00666
1
APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING MATERIAL TO BE TREATED IN
CONTINUOUSLY OPERATED THERMAL TREATMENT FURNACES
The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting the material to
be
treated in continuously operated thermal treatment furnaces, where the
supporting of the material is realized by support elements external to the
furnace.
From the Fi patent 67,726, there is known a material support device to be used
in thermal treatment furnaces, wherein on the circumference of a cooled roll,
there are placed at least two cooled rolls with essentially smaller diameters.
The larger roll, serving as the support device, is installed externally to the
thermal treatment furnace, or between two successive thermal treatment
furnaces, so that the supporting proper of the material is carried out by
means
of one circumferentially placed roll at a time. The roll located on the
circumfer-
ence of the larger roll rotates at the rotational velocity of the material to
be
supported, whereas the mutual position of the circumferentially installed
rolls
can be adjusted by means of an actuator arrangement connected to the larger
roll.
In the support apparatus according to the FI patent 67,726, the roll placed on
the circumference of the larger roll is made to rotate only by means of the
material to be supported. Thus it is most likely that surface damages are
caused in the material to be supported, owing to the difference in velocity
between the roll and the material to be supported, at a stage when the roll is
shifted to the supporting position or away therefrom.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate some of the drawbacks of
the
prior art and to realize and advanced supporting apparatus for material to be
treated in thermal treatment furnaces wherein the element used for support can
be made to rotate also without the co-effect of the material to be supported.

WO 01/11093 CA 02381222 2002-02-04 pCT/FI00/00666
2
The essential novel features of the invention are apparent from the appended
claims.
In the material support apparatus according to the invention, to be used in a
continuously operated thermal treatment furnace, against one and the same
support member there are advantageously supported at least two support
elements, which are positioned symmetrically with respect to said support
member, so that those parts of the support elements that are located furthest
away from each other are located on the circumference of one and the same
circle. Moreover, the support member is installed so that by rotating the
support
member around its axis, the support element positioned in the supporting
position is advantageously made to change places with another support
element that was advantageously placed in the replacement position. In
addition, around the support element there are provided means that at least
partly support the material to be treated in the continuously operated thermal
treatment furnace during the mutual exchange of positions of the support
elements. According to the invention, the support element is provided with an
actuator arrangement, whereby the support element can be made to rotate
prior to the mechanical contact between the support element and the material
to be supported. By means of the actuator arrangement, the rotating of the
support element also is made to stop after the support element is shifted away
from the supporting position with respect to the material to be supported. In
order to realize an advantageous operation of the actuator arrangement, the
support element is provided with at least one rotation support member, which
can be replaced without having to detach the support element from the support-
ing position.
In the support apparatus according to the invention, in each support element
there is advantageously connected an actuator arrangement whereby in the
support element, there can be created a circumferential velocity that is essen-
tially equal to the proceeding velocity of the material to be supported. When
the

WO 01/11093 CA 02381222 2002-02-04 PCT/FIOO/00666
3
support element in its support position moves at a velocity essentially equal
to
the velocity of the material to be supported, a better surface quality is
obtained
in the material to be supported, because the heating of the support element -
caused by a difference in velocity - does not take place. Consequently the
support element itself is not subjected to damages that would be caused by the
difference in velocity.
According to the invention, the support element is advantageously made to
rotate by means of the actuator arrangement, essentially simultaneously as the
shifting of the support element from the replacement position to the
supporting
position is started. Thus, when the support element reaches the supporting
position, the circumferential velocity of the support element is essentially
equal
to the proceeding velocity of the material to be supported, essentially at the
same moment when the support element and the material to be supported are
set in a mechanical contact. The circumferential velocity generated by means
of
the actuator arrangement of the support element can be maintained by said
actuator arrangement essentially throughout the period that the support
element is in the support position, but the actuator arrangement can also be
switched off, in which case the support element is allowed to rotate only by
the
circumferential velocity rendered by the material to be supported. In case the
actuator arrangement is switched off while the support element is in the
support
position, it is again switched on prior to shifting the support element away
from
the support position, in order to enable the moving of the support element
away
from the support position without a velocity difference between the
circumferen-
tial velocity of the support element and the proceeding velocity of the
material
to be supported.
In the support apparatus according to the invention, also one and the same
actuator arrangement can advantageously be used for controlling several
support elements in order to generate and advantageous circumferential veloc-
ity, when so desired. A common actuator arrangement can be applied for

CA 02381222 2002-02-04
WO 01/11093 PCT/FI00/00666
4
instance in an apparatus of two support elements, so that the need of both
support elements to use the actuator arrangement is stopped, when one is in
the support position and the other is in the replacement position. When the
replacing is started, both support elements are set to rotate essentially
simulta-
neously, so that when one support element is leaving the support position and
the other is entering the support position, both support elements rotate at a
desired circumferential velocity with respect to the material to be supported.
When the replacing is completed, the operation of the actuator arrangement of
the support elements is again stopped, and the support element placed in the
support position rotates by the velocity generated by the material to be
supported. On the other hand, the support element placed in the replacement
position is stopped, and thus enables the replacing of said support element.
When employing, in connection with the support element of the support appara-
tus according to the invention, an actuator arrangement whereby the circumfer-
ential velocity of the support element can be adjusted to be preferably
essentially equal to the proceeding direction of the material to be supported,
also the working life of the support element itself is extended, because now
possible damages caused in the surface of the support element by heating, as
a result of the velocity difference between the material to be supported and
the
support element, can be avoided when placing the support element in the
support position.
According to the invention, in order to enable an advantageous use of the
actuator arrangement, the support element is further provided with at least
one
rotation support member, i.e. bearing, whereby also the replacing of a support
element with another can be carried out essentially quicker than in the prior
art.
The bearing connected to the support element is provided with a tightening
element which is turnably installed between the locking position and the
bearing
replacement position. At the same time, the tightening element of the support
element constitutes part of the bearing housing. Now, when a bearing should

CA 02381222 2002-02-04
WO 01/11093 PCT/FI00/00666
be replaced, the locking of the tightening element is opened, and the
tightening
element is turned to the replacement position, so that the bearing can be
removed and replaced with a new one. By means of the turnably operated tight-
ening element, the repiacing of the bearing can be carried out advantageously
5 quickly, and only a short interruption is caused in the thermal treatment
process
owing to the replacing of the bearing, because it can be carried out while the
support element is in the support position. Moreover, the cooling provided in
the
support element extends the working life of the bearing, because the bearing
is
made more durable due to the more even temperature. By aid of the bearing
system, also the actuator arrangement connected to the support element and
the support element circumferential velocity generated thereby can advanta-
geously be maintained and adjusted when necessary.
The invention is explained in more detail with reference to the appended
drawings, where
figure 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, seen from the
side,
and
figure 2 illustrates a detail of the embodiment according to figure 1, seen
from
the side.
According to figures 1 and 2, in the support structures 4 of a support
apparatus
3 for material 2 to be treated in thermal treatment furnaces 1, there is
attached
a motor 5, which is connected, by chain transmission 6, to a support element
7.
Around said support element 7, there also is installed a bearing 8, which is
secured in its locking position by means of a tightening element 9. The
tighten-
ing element 9 is further installed, with respect to the bearing 8, so that the
tight-
ening element 9 is turnable to its replacement position by means of an axis 10
provided between the bearing 8 and the tightening element 9.

Representative Drawing